Create your own Eden

The Easy Mulching Guide
Create your own Eden
The Marvel
of Mulch
The many benefits of mulch
Mulch is material Helps to keep the
Mulching around
that covers the soil to weeds down. That’s
less work for you. plants keeps the roots
stop weed growth and Reduces cool in summer and
promote healthy plants. the need warm in winter and
Provides for chemical helps maintain
Mulch can be made nutrients. sprays. moisture.
from a vast range of
organic material. Reduces soil Less
erosion and soil watering.
Applied on top of the
compact around
soil in your garden, plants.
organic mulch helps Mulch is
multipurpose.
retain nutrients and Leaving grass Use it around
moisture in the soil. clippings on the plants, as a
lawn saves on valuable additive
Mulch makes your expensive to the compost,
garden much healthier fertilisers. as an attractive
by greatly increasing the surface for your
paths or to
biological activity in the provide a safe
soil (especially worms surface for the
and beneficial microbes).
children’s play
area.
How to make mulch
Making mulch is really simple. Here are a few ideas:
1. USING LAWN CLIPPINGS
Putting lawn clippings in the garbage bin
is a real waste of a natural garden wonder. Lawn
clippings are rich in nitrogen, an important plant
fertiliser.To make the most of your lawn clippings:
❋ Leave them on the lawn when you mow,
feeding the lawn and making it healthier.
You can use your regular lawn mower
or purchase a mulching mower.
❋ Use lawn clippings as mulch around annual
flower and vegetable plants.
2. USING GARDEN PRUNINGS
It’s tempting to place small twigs, branches and leafy cuttings into
the garbage bin.They are often too big for the compost bin and
take a long time to break down.Well, think again.
It’s easy to turn garden prunings into mulch, and here’s how:
❋ Arrange twigs, thin branches and leafy material in
a long row and use the lawn mower to shred them.
❋ For larger branches, borrow or buy a small shredder.
3. USING COMPOST
By composting your food and garden wastes you can create a free source
of nutrients for seedlings, plants, shrubs and trees. Compost can be used
for covering seeds, for mulching around seedlings and young plants.
Compost decays quickly so the nutrients are readily available to your
plants and soil. Call 131 555 to get your ‘Easy Composting Guide’
to find out more about making compost.
4. USING BOUGHT MULCHES
There are many different types of mulches that can
be bought either in bags or in bulk. Straw, hay, wood and bark
chips can be easily purchased.They can be used in a myriad of ways.
Some purchased mulches are used specifically for landscaping.
Wood chip mulches are often used as an attractive feature for garden paths.
Wood chips can also be used under children’s play equipment to soften falls.
Mulch can be made from common
Some tips for organic items found around the garden
or the kitchen, such as:
making mulch LEAVES
Leaves are a decorative free mulch which
provide fibrous organic material to the soil.
WEED FREE MULCH
GRASS CLIPPINGS
The most important tip for making
Grass clippings contain nitrogen and potash
mulch is to take care with selecting
and rot down quickly. Great for seedlings!
the organic materials being used. It is
best not to include weeds, seeding
SHREDDED GARDEN PRUNINGS
plants and certain leaves in your
Shredded garden prunings make a terrific
mulch mix. (Eucalyptus and Camphor
looking leaf mulch around larger plants
Laurel leaves contain substances that
inhibit plant growth for 3-4 weeks when and shrubs.
fresh.) These are best composted.
STRAW
Straw can be bought and used as mulch
around vegetable plants and seedlings.
KILLER MULCH SEAWEED
Avoid making mulch with Seaweed has many advantages as a mulch –
organic materials that have it’s seed free, doesn’t transfer plant diseases
been exposed to weed killer and looks good. It’s also high in minerals
or pesticides as the mulch and potash.
may harm your plants or soil.
NEWSPAPER
Soiled newspaper that can’t go in
the recycling bin can be used as
MATURE MULCH mulch. Great for paths.
Mulching with fresh woody
material such as wood chips WOOD OR BARK CHIPS
and bark can rob the soil of Wood chips can be made or
nitrogen. Be sure to let mulches purchased.They are often used
mature for a few weeks before in landscaping.
applying around plants.
Try mixing in some nitrogen COMPOST
containing material like compost, worm castings or animal Compost is an all-round wonder for the
manures (e.g. cows or chooks). A good recipe is to add garden. It decays quickly as a mulch and
one part nitrogen-rich material to ten parts mulch. provides nutrients and trace elements
to plants and soil.
LIVING MULCH
COLLAR YOUR MULCH Try ground cover plants as carpet mulches.
When mulching around Herbs such as Corsican Mint (Mentha requenii)
trees and plants with woody or Wild Thyme (Thymus serpyllum)
mulch, be sure to leave or Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens) make
some space (a ‘collar’) great ground covers.
between the bark or stem
and the mulch.This will
Try and increase the diversity of
prevent making an
environment that may mulches you use on your gardens.
encourage disease. Variety is the spice of life.
Go grasscycling!
The cheapest and easiest way to recycle your lawn clippings
is to leave them on the lawn after mowing.
Here are a few tips for successful grasscycling.
❋ Mow your lawn when it’s dry, this will prevent
the clippings from clumping.
❋ Make sure the lawnmower blades are sharp.
❋ Don’t give the lawn a short, back and sides.
The best result can be achieved for your lawn
by setting the mower height to 5 – 6 cm.
❋ Try to remove only the top third of the grass
blades each time you mow.
❋ Buy or borrow a mulch mower.
A mulch mower does a better job because the grass is cut finer,
but a regular mower can also work well,
just remove the catcher while mowing.
Where to get more information about mulching
Contact your local council or the Department of Environment and Conservation (NSW)
to find out more about mulching, composting and waste reduction.
There are many good publications on mulching and composting.
Try your local library or the Department of Environment and
Conservation (NSW) on 131 555.
ISBN 1 74137 299 2 2005/127 Printed on recycled paper